The Friction and Wear Properties of the Spherical Plain Bearings with Self-lubricating Composite Liner in Oscillatory Movement

A test method based on the condition simulation and a friction and wear test machine featuring in oscillatory movement were set up for self-lubricating spherical plain bearings (SPB). In the machine the condition parameters such as load, angle and frequency of oscillation and number of test cycles can be properly controlled. The data relating to the tribological properties of the bearing, in terms of friction coefficient, linear wear amount, temperature near friction surface and applied load, can be monitored and recorded simultaneously during test process by a computerized measuring system of the machine. Efforts were made to improve the measurement technology of the friction coefficient in oscillating motion. In result, a well-designed bearing torque mechanism was developed, which could reveal the relation between the friction coefficient and the displacement of oscillating angle in any defined cycle while the curve of friction coefficient vs number of testing cycles was continuously plotted. The tribological properties and service life of four kinds of the bearings, i.e, the sampleⅠ-Ⅳ with different self-lubricating composite liners, including three kinds of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) fiber weave/epoxy resin composite liners and a PTFE plastic/copper grid composite liner, were evaluated by testing, and the wear mechanisms of the liner materials were analyzed.

Effect of Manufacturing Errors on Static Characteristics of Externally Pressurized Spherical Air Bearings

Externally pressurized spherical air bearings are the key component of the three-axis air bearing table, and the manufacturing errors of the bearing affects the performance of the air bearing table. However, the manufacturing errors are unavoidable, and the pursuit to enhance the manufacturing accuracy will increase the cost greatly. In order to provide some theoretical guideline for the tolerance choice in the design of the externally pressurized spherical air bearings with inherent compensation, the effects of several manufacturing errors on the static characteristics of the air bearing are studied. Due to the complex geometry of the computational domain, an unstructured meshing technology is used for mesh generation. A finite-volume method is adopted to discretize the three-dimensional steady-state compressible Navier-Stokes equations. A modified SIMPLE algorithm which is suitable for compressible flows is applied to solve the discretized governing equations. The effects of the dimension error and the roundness error of the ball head and the ball socket on the static characteristics are investigated. The investigation result shows that the positive dimension error and the oblate spheroid-type roundness error of the ball head as well as the negative dimension error and the prolate spheroid-type roundness error of the ball socket can improve the bearing capacity and static stiffness of the air bearings by reducing the mass flow. The calculation method proposed in this paper fits well for the general principle, which can be extended to the characteristics analysis of other air bearings.

Study of the seismic performance of expansion double spherical seismic isolation bearings for continuous girder bridges

The development of an expansion double spherical seismic isolation (DSSI) bearing by modifying the fixed DSSI bearing is described in this paper. The expansion DSSI bearing is characterized by its good energy dissipation and horizontal displacement capacity and has been successfully integrated into the seismic design of several important engineering projects in China. It is envisioned to be used as a substitute for ordinary expansion bearings in continuous girder bridges to distribute the longitudinal earthquake action among all the piers. Its development, configuration and working mechanism are introduced first. The test method and the seismic performance of an expansion DSSI bearing are then briefly described. A theoretical analysis followed by a numerical analysis for an actual four-span continuous girder bridge are provided as an example, and it is concluded that the expansion DSSI bearing can be integrated into the seismic design of continuous girder bridges.

Investigation on MoS_2 and Graphite Coatings and Their Effects on the Tribological Properties of the Radial Spherical Plain Bearings

With constant enlargement of the application areas of the spherical plain bearings,higher quality lubrication of the bearings is required.To solve the lubricating problems of spherical plain bearings under high temperature,high vacuum,high speed,heavy loads and strong oxidation conditions,it is urgent for us to develop more excellent self-lubricating technologies.In this paper,the bonded solid lubricant coatings,which use inorganic phosphate as the binder,the mixture of MoS2 and graphite with two different weight proportions as the solid lubricant,are prepared by spraying under three different spray gun pressures.The bonding strength tests on the coatings show that the best spraying pressure is 0.2 MPa and the better mixing proportion of MoS2 to Graphite is 3：1.Then for the radial spherical plain bearings with steel/steel friction pair,after the coatings are made on the inner ring outer surfaces,the friction coefficient,the wear loss and the friction temperature of the bearings under four oscillating frequencies are investigated by a self-made tribo-tester.The test results,SEM of the worn morphologies and EDS of worn areas show that tribological properties of the bearing are obviously improved by the bonded solid lubricant coatings.When sprayed under the spray gun pressure of 0.2 MPa,the bearings have better anti-friction and anti-wear properties than those sprayed under 0.1 MPa and 0.3 MPa.Further as proved from the XPS analysis,between the coating with 3：1 mixing ratio of MoS2 to Graphite and the coating with 1：1 ratio,the former has less oxidation occurred on the surface and therefore has better tribological characteristics than the latter.This paper provides a reference to developing a new product of the radial spherical plain bearings with high bonding strength,oxidation resistance and abrasion resistance.

Thermal Error Compensation of the Wear-Depth Real-Time Detecting of Self-Lubricating Spherical Plain Bearings

The spherical plain bearing test bench is a necessary detecting equipment in the research process of self?lubricating spherical plain bearings. The varying environmental temperatures cause the thermal deformation of the wear?depth detecting system of bearing test benches and then a ect the accuracy of the wear?depth detecting data. However, few researches about the spherical plain bearing test benches can be found with the implementation of the detect?ing error compensation. Based on the self?made modular spherical plain bearing test bench, two main causes of ther?mal errors, the friction heat of bearings and the environmental temperature variation, are analysed. The thermal errors caused by the friction heat of bearings are calculated, and the thermal deformation of the wear?depth detecting sys?tem caused by the varying environmental temperatures is detected. In view of the above results, the environmental temperature variation is the main cause of the two error factors. When the environmental temperatures rise is 10.3 °C, the thermal deformation is approximately 0.01 mm. In addition, the comprehensive compensating model of the thermal error of the wear?depth detecting system is built by multiple linear regression(MLR) and time series analysis. Compared with the detecting data of the thermal errors, the comprehensive compensating model has higher fitting precision, and the maximum residual is only 1 μm. A comprehensive compensating model of the thermal error of the wear?depth detecting system is proposed, which provides a theoretical basis for the improvement of the real?time wear?depth detecting precision of the spherical plain bearing test bench.

Impact of bending dies with different friction forms on forming force and quality of tubes manufactured by free bending technology

In the 3 D free bending forming system,the bending die can be designed either in a sliding type or rolling friction type.Bending die-based sliding friction type is often called normal bending dies;however,the bending dies-based rolling friction type includes bending die-based roller type and ball type in structure.In the current study,the impact of three bending dies on the forming force,and the bent tube quality was investigated.The obtained results showed that the tangential stresses and strains of the tubes formed by the bending die-based roller type were the smallest among the three bending dies.Besides,the spherical bearing force PUwas reduced drastically after using the roller type and ball type compared to the sliding friction type.Moreover,the uniformity of the wall thickness distribution of the tubes formed by the roller type and ball type was better than those obtained from the sliding friction type.In addition,the cross-section distortion rate was reduced by 2.8%using the roller type,and 1.8%using ball-type compared to the sliding friction type.